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EmailStonewall attended the 31st ILGA World which brought together 1450 delegates from across the LGBTQ+ movement, and from more than 100 countries, in Cape Town, South Africa.
The theme for the conference was “Kwa Umoja We Rise”, from a phrase in Kiswahili that celebrates unity and collective progress – the importance and power of which were highlighted in many conversations across the week. ILGA World is always a significant moment for the international community to band together, forge new partnerships that will help combat the shared challenges faced, and to celebrate successes.
Across the globe, the LGBTQ+ movement is facing increasing backlash. This year we have seen regressive anti-LGBTQ+ laws passed in Ghana, Iraq, Bulgaria and Georgia, among others. From LGBTQ+ communities around the world we are seeing reports of increased anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in politics, and increased levels of violence and hate crime against communities.
However, among this we must also celebrate successes. 2024 has seen the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Dominica and Namibia, the legalization of same-sex marriage in Thailand, Greece, Estonia, Lichtenstein, Aruba and Curacao, and progressive laws on legal gender recognition passed in Sweden and Germany. Each of these are momentous and lifechanging achievements for LGBTQ+ people living in these countries and reminders for the global movement that even when the path to equity for LGBTQ+ communities can seem long and difficult in some places, victories are still being won.
A key thread throughout the conference’s sessions and the conversations Stonewall had with partners and policymakers from around the world is that to continue to achieve this positive change we must continue to work together in collaboration; and not lose heart. There’s immense value in the sharing of knowledge, tactics and expertise. The LGBTQ+ movement is much stronger united than it is divided.
The importance of working collaboratively is something that Stonewall has, and continues to, recognise and implement across our Global Programming. As part of the Alliance Against Hate Crime, Stonewall works together with strong partner organisations in Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia to tackle hate crime against LGBTQ+ people. As part of this ongoing programme, together we are building online reporting platforms for victims of hate crime to access the support that they need, and will use the data collected to advocate for progressive reforms, and train police forces in hate crime best-practice and to better understand and support LGBTQ+ victims of hate.
Another example of the kind of partnership work illustrated at ILGA, is Stonewall’s Out of the Margins project, which works alongside grassroots civil society organisations in Jamaica, Botswana and Georgia. Our common aim is to advance lesbian and bi women’s rights and trans+ rights in these three countries, through the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Programme activities each address one or more of the SDGs and demonstrate how inclusive change can be made, through research, advocacy with multilateral institutions and governments, and capacity building communities.
Attending ILGA World gave us the opportunity to meet face-to-face with old, new and potential future partners from across the movement and around the world and have vital conversations about policy and shared priorities. It provided us with insight and ideas to takeaway and implement in our project work.
We have come away from Cape Town with a renewed sense of vigour with which to tackle the challenges that LGBTQ+ communities around the world are facing. And we have gained strengthened knowledge, tools and relationships that will allow us to better tackle them in the years to come.
